Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program Plans For Fewer Refugees After US Admissions Cap

Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program has offices in Colchester, pictured here, and in Rutland. Director Amila Merdzanovic says the effect of President Donald Trump's cap on U.S. refugee admissions will be felt in Vermont and across the U.S.

Meg Malone
/ VPR

President Donald Trump has capped U.S. refugee admissions for fiscal year 2018 at 45,000 people.

Amila Merdzanovic, director of the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, says the effects of that reduction will be felt in Vermont and across the country.

Merdzanovic says the agency had hoped to resettle 450 refugees in Vermont this coming year. But she says because of the Trump administration's effort to limit resettlement, they've had to scale their efforts back to 345. Merdzanovic says the State Department has approved plans to resettle 270 refugees in Colchester and 75 in Rutland.

In Colchester, recent refugees have been from a number of countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Somalia, the Congo and others. Merdzanovic says Rutland is expecting families from Syria and Iraq.

Trump has argued that limits on refugee resettlement are necessary to ensure the nation's safety. But Merdzanovic calls the overall reduction of U.S. resettlement efforts tragic.

“As much as we are absolutely devastated at the fact that 60,000 people — 60,000 refugees — will not be welcomed in this fiscal year," Merdzanovic says, she adds it's important to remember that 45,000 will be allowed in.